There hasn’t been a lot of movement on Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” film in quite some time.
And that’s because a script hasn’t been written. We do know that George Clooney won’t be playing the Lone Ranger (as once rumored), but Johnny Depp will play Tonto (which was announced about a year ago or more).
But some small movement on the project was announced late last night. Justin Haythe, who adapted “Revolutionary Road” for Sam Mendes, wrote the Fox come-and-gone thriller, “The Clearing” and more importantly is also eventually scribing, “Jekyll” for Nicolas Winding Refn starring Keanu Reeves, is in negotiations to pen “The Lone Ranger” script.
With that kind of CV are Bruckheimer and Disney probably going for some kind of deep gravitas? Don’t count on it. Expect this to be “Pirates of the Caribbean” set in the West with those guys involved.
Haythe was supposed to write Disney’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo” for McG, but that project got canned, so this is sort of a make-good effort. We ultimately don’t expect much more than a theme park type film, but we wouldn’t doubt if Haythe’s script is quick-witted and sharp.
There’s still no director attached to this project either. We probably won’t see it shoot til sometime 2011 at the very earliest (and probably no sooner than April since Depp has his Pancho Villa film to shoot for director Emir Kusturica in February ’11).
